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I read 95% non-fiction. The fiction I read is stuff like The Pilgrim’s Progress.

I know…I’m a nerd. But I’m a learner (StrengthsFinder confirmed that), and am always looking for some new concept to engage. Fiction doesn’t necessarily offer something new to learn…it offers a fun experience. A story that is engaging, funny, or exciting. And though there are definitely messages and truths to be found in fiction writings, be honest…that’s not why you read them. You read them because you enjoy getting lost in a good story.

And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Which is why, throughout the month of December, I decided to put down my nonfiction and pick up a good story. I’m reading (almost done) through the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan. Rick is a good storyteller, and I’ve enjoyed reading through the books.

The Mist

In the books, monsters and half-bloods (half-human, half-god) live, work, and fight right among mortals. There’s a Mist that’s present on Earth (hang with me…I’m going somewhere…it’s fiction, okay?) that causes mortals to see supernatural people and events in a way that is not supernatural…which explains why we never “see” any of these events. The main character (Percy Jackson) wields his sword and fights with a god in the city of Los Angeles…and the newspapers report that damage has been done by an earthquake. When he fights 3 demons in a city bus, mortals see something completely different, explaining away what they saw as a natural occurrence. In another instance, mortals saw a homeless boy that was big and goofy…through the Mist, he was really a Cyclops.

A little silly, yes. A little childish, maybe. But there are implications here for us.

We choose the Mist

Because we do the same thing every day. God is at work all around us. He’s causing the sun to rise and the rain to fall. (Matthew 5:45) He’s changing hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:26). He’s turning the hearts of fathers to the hearts of their children. (Malachi 4:6) He’s holding the universe together. (Colossians 1:17) He’s healing relationships. Overcoming fears. (2 Timothy 1:7) Breaking the bonds of addiction. Restoring marriages. Drawing those who are far from Him closer. Answering our cries for help.

And yet we choose to still ask, “Where’s God?!?”

The reason you can’t see God right now is not because He’s absent. Or abandoned you. He doesn’t work like that.

The reason you can’t see God right now is because you’ve chosen not to. Even when you’re far from Him. And your story has taken you off the best path. And you’ve got more junk in your life than you’d like to admit.

God’s not far away (Acts 17:27). You’ve just got to look through the Mist.